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By Donna J. Wade Mary Stewart’s persistent questioning of John Wesley’s performance was a clear signal to him that he was losing his hold over Mary and Terese, threatening his standing in Giant Computer, and his potential to continue squeezing money from Mary. Unknown to Mary, John began telling clients that he and Lynn were the majority stockholders in Giant, although they owned no Giant stock. A SOCIOPATH STRUTS HIS STUFF John responded to Mary’s inquiries about his activities with double-speak worthy of White House spin doctors. His answers confused rather than clarified. Increasingly volatile encounters with employees reflected his growing paranoia. He began to see "evil" and employee conspiracies around every corner, which he feared undermined his control. On June 8, 1992, John observed Mary photocopying a chapter on Narcissistic Personality Disorder from a book and questioned her about it. Mary indicated that she wanted to talk with him about certain of his personality traits described in the chapter that she felt contributed to his difficulties with Giant personnel, and gave him a copy of the material. THE CREDIT CARD SHOWDOWN The following day (June 9, 1992), Mary discovered that the office furnishings and equipment (which the Wesleys agreed to provide as part of their investment in Giant) had been charged to her credit cards, to the tune of $12,000. She met with the Wesleys twice that day. In the morning, the Wesleys agreed to control spending and to cough up their share of the investment capital, though they had no intention of keeping either promise. At that time, Mary agreed that the Wesleys could pick up her computer from her home that evening for use at Giant. Things turned ugly during their afternoon session. The Wesleys were furious that Mary thought the description of Narcissistic Personality Disorder applied to John. John told Mary that he had shown excerpts of the chapter to Terese, Bonnie and another employee, and that they all agreed that it described Mary’s personality, not John’s. Wesley also claimed that Terese told him the previous evening that Mary was evil. "I'M GOING TO BREAK YOU!" That meeting concluded with Wesley’s chilling statement to Mary: "Mary Stewart, I have known you for two years, and have never seen you cry. Girl, I’m going to break you. I’m going to see you cry." As Mary left for her counseling office, he badgered her to tell him what time she would be home that evening. Finally, she said it would be close to midnight. The following morning, Terese was dead. The coroner estimated time of death at between 9 p.m. and midnight on June 9. THE CRIME SCENE The morning of June 11, the Wesleys contacted RSO Det. Brinkman, the lead investigator, claiming to be "anonymous neighbors" of Mary. They indicated that Terese felt her mother was controlling and manipulative, and that problems at the computer business were the result of Mary attempting to steal control from its rightful owners. When the Wesleys went to the Stewart home later in the day, Mary revealed to them that she and Shane believed Terese had not killed herself, but was murdered. Mary told John about a male friend of Terese’s becoming combative a few days before her death, and he had not been seen since. John expressed his theory of what transpired the night Terese died, stating that he believed someone either had a key or Terese let the murderer into the house, because he had found her keys on the TV stand in the family room. He became very animated as he told Mary and Shane that there were three bullets in the gun, but if they sent it for fingerprinting, they would find it had been wiped clean. He noted that Terese’s notebooks were cleaned out and her briefcase emptied. John also stated that Terese had been shot while standing, then placed in the chair where Mary found her. On June 12, the Wesleys accompanied the Stewarts to purchase a cemetery plot for Terese, and John attempted to persuade Mary to purchase one for herself. After the funeral, Mary continued to fulfill her duties at Giant, much to John’s obvious displeasure. He brought Terese’s computer to Giant so that another programmer could finish the software program she’d developed. DEMANDS FOR MONEY INTENSIFY In mid-July, he asked Mary for $25,000 to "license" Terese’s program. When she refused, he lowered the request to $10,000, suggesting that they donate the first 15% of profits to a charity in Terese’s name, before splitting the remainder of the profits between them. Mary indicated Terese’s death was too recent for her to even think about what to do with her accounting program. In August, John advised Mary that they should have $250,000 life insurance policies naming Giant as the beneficiary, and claimed that his policy was already in effect. He arranged for Mary to meet with his agent, and by mid-month, her policy was in effect. In early September, John demanded that Mary match the Wesley’s recent $40,000 investment in Giant. When questioned why no record of their investment appeared in the check register, John stated that Lynn forgot to enter it. Mary again refused his demand. A few days later, John insisted that Mary invest an additional $10,000 short-term, claiming that the new CFO he hired had investors willing to commit $250,000 to Giant. Once again, Mary refused. Shortly thereafter, John threatened that if Mary didn’t invest $10,000 to market Terese’s software, he and another investor would market it themselves. Mary advised John he had no legal right to do anything with Terese’s program. In an angry telephone exchange, John warned Mary to stay away from Giant. Frightened by his outburst, Mary finally accepted that John had to be terminated. She sought legal advice about how to proceed regarding Giant and her other financial entanglements with the Wesleys. Mary attempted to deal only with (the more reasonable) Lynn, since she and Lynn were the corporate officers. On September 14, Lynn faxed Mary a letter asking her to set aside time to complete her Living Trust. THE TERMINATION Later that week, the Wesleys presented falsified corporate documents to bank officers replacing Mary’s name on Giant’s accounts with John Wesley’s. Mary learned about the illegal switch at the bank on September 23. Fearing the worst, she phoned her credit card companies and discovered the Wesley’s had charged thousands more to her accounts. On September 24, Mary faxed termination letters to both Wesleys. But the Wesleys wouldn’t go easily or peacefully, because now John wanted more than merely to rob Mary of her holdings. He was hell-bent on teaching Mary a lesson about what befell people who openly defied him. What he had failed to achieve through charm, persuasion, and manipulation, he would take by physical intimidation and force…. Donna J. Wade is an ex-cop and freelance writer based in Lake Gregory, CA. Send her your comments at donna.wade7@verizon.net. To read more of her writings, visit her website: http://deejwade.tripod.com.
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